


Steal My Heart

by keptan_on_ze_bridge



Category: Big Brother RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-02-27 23:16:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2710256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keptan_on_ze_bridge/pseuds/keptan_on_ze_bridge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zach Rance's day was going just as planned. He had gotten his coffee, taken Tiger for a walk, and even got to talk to his little broski on the phone. Well that is until he stopped by the bank and said bank gets robbed. Yeah, getting held at gun point really puts a damper on things. Zankie bank robbery AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Zach Rance's day was going just as planned. He had gotten his coffee, taken Tiger for a walk, and even got to talk to his little broski on the phone. Well that is until he stopped by the bank and said bank gets robbed. Yeah, getting held at gun point really puts a damper on things.

Zach had walked into the bank and all had seemed normal. It was fairly empty which isn't surprising considering most people would usually be working at this time of day. So he did what most people usually do when they go to a bank. He walked up to the teller and handed her the check he wanted to cash. That's when he heard the gunshots. He hit the ground faster than you could say the word duck. 

The whole place turns to chaos. People are screaming and a few are running around panicking. Zach doesn't do anything but lay in his place on the floor with his hands over his head. All of a sudden there's another gunshot. They hear it hit the plaster of the roof. "Everyone on the ground now!" The few people still on their feet, frozen on the spot with looks of horror on their faces. "Get on the ground right now or I will put a bullet through her skull!" This causes Zach to finally look up at his captors. 

There are two white men wearing black ski masks. One has what looks to be a small semi-automatic rifle while the other has a pistol in one hand a woman who Zach would guess to be the bank teller in the other. Tears are streaming down her face as she visibly swallows. Zach feels anger rise up in his gutt. How one human being could do that to another is just beyond him. 

"All of you laying on the floor sit up and back up against the counters." Says the man with the rifle as he walks through the maze of people on the ground. As he passes Zach he kicks him ruffly on the arm. It takes every ounce of restraint in Zach's body not to reach out and grab the man's ankle and pull him to the ground. After deciding that's not the best idea he quickly sits up and scoots backwards until his back is against the bank counter. 

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Just a few feet to the left of Zach one of the robbers is standing over a man with pink in his hair. He had been on the phone probably trying to call the cops. All of a sudden the robber grabbed the man and pulled him to his feet by the collar of his shirt and shirt and pointed his gun right at his head. "I should just shoot you right here."

The look of sheer terror on the guys face just tore right through Zach and caused a whole new surge of anger to rush through him. Before he even realizes what he's doing Zach is on his feet. "Leave him alone!" He yells out. All eyes are on him now. 

Zach sees a flash of anger in the masked man's eyes as he walks over to Zach, dragging the other man along beside him. "You better watch your mouth kid." He sticks the gun right under Zach's chin but Zach doesn't falter. "Sit back down or I will shoot you both." Zach backs up before sitting down. He looks at the other guy sympathetically. 

"Alright everybody hand over your phones right now!" Zach reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his new iPhone. He sets it on the floor and slides it towards the guys feet.

Once everyone else had done the same the other robber, who still had the bank teller, says to his accomplice "Do it." 

Everyone in the room braced themselves for the inevitable gunshot that would end the innocent man's life. Zach couldn't look away from the guy's face. He isn't crying or begging for his life, and even though Zach can see the terrified look in his eyes there's also a stony determination there. 

The robber holds his victim at arms length and uses the handle of his gun to hit the man hard enough to knock him off his feet. He cries out as he hits the ground and Zach can see blood start to flow from a gash on his temple. "If any of you try anything I swear to god you'll get so much worse." He points at the man. "Now get your sorry ass up and go sit next to your boyfriend." When the man doesn't move the robber violently grabs him and pulls him to his feet before walking him over and throwing him to floor right next to Zach. 

Zach looks over at him, worried. He's leaning heavily on Zach's shoulder but he's looking straight ahead at their captors, a look of anger on his face. Blood is pouring down the right side of his face making him look a little terrifying. Considering the situation they're in Zach is a little impressed. Most people would be crying after that but this man isn't.

After letting the woman go one of the robbers decided to start yelling at the other about something. Rather than listen Zach waited until he was sure they wouldn't hear and turned to the other man and whispered "Hey bro, you okay?" 

"Yeah just a little disoriented." The man whispered back. "What's your name?"

"Zach. What about you?" Zach asks eyeing the robbers.

"Nice to meet you Zach, I'm Frankie." Frankie says.

The guy on the other side of Frankie leans forward "Hey man you should press this on that cut it might help." as he whispers he hands Frankie a handkerchief. Zach can hear a country accent in his voice. What the hell is a country boy doing in New York? Zach mentally slaps himself, now is not the time. "The name's Caleb by the way.

"Thanks Caleb." Frankie says, pressing the small piece of cloth to his forehead. He turns to Zach "And thanks for what you did by the way."

"Thank me when we get out of here." Zach replies. "By the way did you actually get anybody on the phone?" 

Frankie nods before wincing. "I got 911 and told them there was a bank robbery but that was it." 

Zach looks around at the people surrounding him. Luckily the bank had mostly empty at the time. There's 13 other people sitting on the floor. To Zach's left there's a rich looking woman with brown hair, bawling her eyes out. Next to her are two brunette bank tellers who are quietly whispering to each other. Directly across from Zach is a young blonde couple, a girl with blue hair, a man with an extremely long beard, another woman who appears to be praying, and a solemn looking man with bulging muscles. 

Then Zach looked over at the men in the masks. Both of them are walking back over. One of them grabs the crying teller and pulls her to her feet. He gruffly says "Show me where the vault is." She starts leading the way as he points his gun at the back of her head.

"Any funny business and I'll shoot." The other gunman says. Zach and Frankie share a look of concern before Zach leans his head back against the counter and closes his eyes. Frankie rests a comforting hand on his knee and Zach doesn't shake it off.

A few minutes later they all hear sirens heading their way. Frankie squeezes Zach's knee and the two share a hopeful look. "Shit." the robber says, turning his head towards the front door. Everyone in the room quietly waits to see if the see if the sirens are for them. Not long after they hear "Release the hostages and come out with your hands up!" 

The robber standing in front of them rolls his eyes. "Yeah like that's going to happen." he mutters as his accomplice walks back into the room with the poor bank teller.

"What the fuck is going on?" The other robber asks as he sets two big backpacks that one could only assume are full of money.

"The cops are here." 

"Shit."

"Yeah that's what I said."

Zach rolls his eyes as the robbers go back to bickering. "They really don't know what they're doing." He mutters to Frankie who just snorts.

One of the cell phones sitting in the center of the room starts ringing. The robber that had been watching them walked over and sifted through the pile until he found it. He handed it to the other man.

"Hello." He answers it gruffly. "Yes well Frankie can't come to the phone right now." Frankie's head shoots up and he winces. The man goes to turn the phone off but then he hears something and brings it back up to his ear. "No, no you can forget it. We are not going to cooperate and we're not looking to make any deals with you cops." Zach and Frankie look at each other with wild eyes. How the hell are they going to make it out of here alive?


	2. Chapter 2

They have been stuck in the bank for over four hours now. Zach is getting restless and he wants to get up and move. He wants to get the hell out. Having ADHD and sitting on the floor of a bank for hours with nothing to do other than stare at the clock don't mix well... At all.

About an hour or so ago Frankie had laid his head on Zach's shoulder and Zach let him keep it there. Even though Zach's not much of a touchy-feely person he feels bad for the guy. Ever since then Zach had pinched the other man on the leg every few minutes to make sure he didn't fall asleep in case he has a concussion. 

The police had been calling in to Frankie's phone every fifteen minutes or so but the robbers won't budge. It's getting to be really infuriating for everyone involved. Even one of the robbers had started to crack. Not long ago Zach had heard him tell the other that maybe they should surrender. Of course the other guy had shot that idea down pretty quickly. It's honestly gotten to the point where Zach doesn't know why they haven't looked for any back exits to escape thro...

Why hadn't he thought of it before? If the cops aren't going to do shit then they're going to have to take things into their own hands. Zach turns his head so that his face is hidden in Frankie's hair before muttering "I think I have an idea." 

Frankie sits up and eyes the robbers. "What?" 

"Hey no talking!" One of them says glaring at the two. They go back to being silent but Frankie continues to stare at Zach. In turn Zach goes back to watching their captives, waiting until their too distracted and he can share his plan with the others. 

A few minutes later the police call again and this takes up all of the robber's attention. "Get Caleb." Zach whispers. Frankie pokes the country boy in the leg and then points at Zach. When he leans forward Zach whispers "Ask the girl if there's a back exit." A few hours ago the robber with the girl had gotten tired of keeping up with her and had thrown her down next to Caleb. She hadn't stopped crying until about 30 minutes ago. 

"Are you crazy?" Frankie and Caleb both whisper-yell at the same time.

Zach shrugs. "Maybe a little, but that's not the point. Just ask." He says.

"You're gonna get yourself killed dagnabbit." Caleb says, shaking his head.

"Well I can't just keep sitting around doing nothing, it's driving me crazy!" He yells back a little loud. All three of them eye their captors who are still talking with the police. They're still not getting anywhere.

Caleb sighs before leaning over and gently touching the woman's shoulder. She jumps but she doesn't yell. "Is there a way out the back?" Caleb asks gently. 

The woman takes off her  glasses and starts cleaning the lenses before nodding and pointing toward a hallways on their left.

Zach turns to Frankie "All it would take is a distraction and you guys could get out... and I'm great with distractions."

Frankie shakes his head. "But they'll kill you!" 

"No they won't they need a hostage to get out of here I'll be fine."

"There's two of them and one of you, they'd need two hostages to get out of here. So that aint gon' work." Caleb butts in.

Frankie just nods. "He's right, they'll just kill you and follow you out the back."

Caleb sighs. "I guess I could..."

Frankie cuts him off "No, I'll do it." 

"What?" Zach and Caleb both exclaim. 

"No way man, you're hurt." Zach says. "Let Caleb do it."

"The fact that I'm hurt will be a great distraction." When neither of the other men appear to be giving in Frankie says "Look Zach, you helped me now let me help you." 

Zach deflates. "Fine... but if something happens to you I'll never forgive myself."

"I still don't think this is the best idea." Caleb says.

"Just get everybody out, worry about us later." Frankie says.

Caleb leans over to explain the plan to the teller as Zach asks Frankie one last time "You sure about this bro?"

Frankie nods and grabs Zach's hand giving it a squeeze. "How are you going to distract them?"

"I have a plan." Zach says with a devilish grin. 

Caleb gives them both a thumbs up just as the robbers hang up on the police. Zach gives Frankie's hand one last squeeze before standing up and saying "Hey ya frootloop dingus, why haven't you gone upstairs to the owners private office, he has a whole stash of gold and cash up there."

 One of the robbers walks over and grabs him by the collar, shoving him back up against the counter. "And how would you know that?"

Zach's heart is pounding so loud he can hear it ringing in his ears. "He's my uncle." He manages to spit out.

The guy lessens his hold. "And why exactly would you help us?" 

"Split the money with me and I'll help you get out of here." Zach says.

The guys looks at his accomplice who just shrugs. "Show me." He throws Zach forward and presses the barrel of the gun to his back.

Zach slowly leads the way up the stairs and into a small office the sits at the very top. The office has a large desk sitting in front of the window, some plants sitting in the corner, and a few paintings on the wall. He points at the largest one to his right. "There, it's behind that one." 

With the gun still pointed at Zach the robber walked over and pulled the painting off the wall. There's nothing behind it. "Are you fucking with me kid?" 

Zach shakes his head. "Sorry he must have switched the paintings. Try that one." He points at the one on the wall behind him. Once again there's nothing behind the painting.

Zach swallows as he sees rage cloud the other man's vision. Suddenly, the robber lunges and punches Zach in the mouth. He tastes the iron as blood starts to flood his mouth. He spits to the side and sees a tooth hit the floor. He's too worried about the others to care much about the pain at the moment.

The robber slams Zach into the wall ruffly. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" 

"The right thing." Zach says as goes to reach for the gun but the robber just moves it and closes his hand around Zach's throat, closing his airway.

"What do you mean?" The man snarls.

"All your hostages just escaped." Zach barely manages to choke out. 

* * *

 

*Downstairs*

Frankie watched as Zach climbed the stairs. He waited a few minutes before moaning and grabbing his head. When the robber pays him no attention he moans again only louder this time. 

"Hey, what the fuck is wrong with you?" The guy says.

Frankie clumsily gets on his feet and grabs his head. "It hurts." He lets a few tears fall down his face. 

"Sit back down!" The guy yells.

"It hurts." Frankie moans again, this time stumbling forward. He makes sure that the robber's facing away from the other hostages. He falls to the floor, curling up in a ball, and grabs his head. 

The robber nudges him with the toe of his boot. "What the fuck?" He crouches down to examine Frankie better. 

Frankie opens his eyes just long enough to see Caleb himself slip into the hallway before laying still on the ground.

"Don't die what the fuck! I can't go to jail on a murder charge!" The guy yells. He turns around about to say something when he finds the room empty. He turns back to Frankie and yells "You piece of shit!" before kicking Frankie right in the gut. 

Frankie yells out as the pain explodes in his abdomen. He clutches at his stomach as he hears voices behind him.

"You let them escape!" The robber yells at the other. 

"He tricked me!" 

"Well maybe if you weren't so stupid he wouldn't have tricked you!"

"Well I take it the other one tricked you, so you can't say shit!"

They went back and forth like that for a few minutes before one of them finally says "We don't have time for this! We have to figure out how to get the hell out of here."

"Why don't we just follow them out?" the robber standing over Frankie asks.

"You'd need a key." Frankie hears Zach's voice and relief washes over him. He knows better but if they both want to make it out of here alive he'd have to keep his mouth shut and let Zach do the talking.

"You can shut it." The other robber says. "Anyways, the police probably have men stationed outside of it so we'd just be walking into a trap."

"Well we have these two. If we walk out using them as shields they can't shoot." 

"That's probably the only intelligent thing to ever come out of your mouth."

The phone rings. "We're coming out." Is all one of the robbers says before the man standing over Frankie yanks him off the ground. He presses a gun to his temple and starts walking him towards the door, grabbing a backpack full of money on his way. 

Frankie finally gets a look at Zach who has a bruised face and blood dripping out of the side of his mouth. He hopes to god that this wasn't all for nothing and these assholes get caught.

As they make their way out the door they see over 50 cops, FBI agents, and various kinds of detective with their guns pointed at them. 

"Let go of the hostages!" An FBI agent says into a megaphone. Both robbers ignore it and just keep making their way past the line of police and toward a car sitting in the parking lot. 

The police continues to try and get them to let Zach and Frankie but to no avail. The four make it to the car and once there the robbers continue to use their hostages as shields as they sit down in the car. 

Frankie feels the grip on his collar disappear as the car speeds off with the doors still open, running over the curb and speeding away down the street, through police barricades, and out of sight.

Frankie feels two strong arms wrap around him as Zach hugs him and starts to cry into his shoulders. The amount of relief spreading throughout his body outweighs the pain in his abdomen and he wraps his arms around the brown haired man and finally starts to cry into his shoulder.

Finally, everyone is safe.


	3. Chapter 3

"Frankie!" A familiar voice calls out causing him to turn around. He let go of Zach and turned around just as his sister hit him like a speeding bullet. Frankie cringes as the impact sends a shooting pain through his ribs.

"Holy shit are you okay?" 

"Holy shit your sister is Ariana Grande." Zach and Ariana say at the same time.

Frankie puts one hand on Zach's shoulder and another around his stomach. He shakes his head as the pain brings more tears to eyes. 

"Hey!" Zach yells. "Someone get a fucking doctor over here!"

A few EMTs run over with a stretcher and help Frankie lay down. They start feeling around his abdomen and when he calls out one says. "Feels like broken ribs. We need to get him to the hospital and make sure it didn't more damage."

They push Frankie over to an ambulance. Ariana goes to follow but Zach stops her. "Tell him I'll come see him in a little while okay?" She just nods before getting in the ambulance and they speed away, sirens on and lights flashing.

"Do you need medical attention?" A cop to Zach's left asks.

Zach shakes his head. "Nah, I'm good." He replies.

"Okay, well we're going to need your statement so you're going to have to come with us to the station." The cop says walking towards his cop car. Zach follows and sits in the back seat. When he pictured his first ride in the back of a cop car this was so not what he expected. "That was really brave what you did in there." The cop.

"Yeah I guess." Zach says, leaning his head against the window as they pull away.

* * *

Zach is sitting on a bench inside the police station waiting on his roommate AJ to come pick him up. He already gave his statement and managed to get cleaned up. Turns out he lost a tooth in the bank brawl. 

Now he's watching Caleb flirt with some girl from the bank. 'Now is not the time dude.' he thinks to himself. The girl looks highly uncomfortable. 

"Hey Caleb!" He says not getting up. As Caleb walks over the girl shoots him a grateful look before walking out the door.

"Hey man." Caleb says, taking the seat next to him.

"Have you heard anything about Frankie?" Zach asks, genuinely worried about the other man.

"Oh yeah," Caleb says. "Your boy has a concussion and a few broken ribs but he should be fine." 

Zach side eyes Caleb. "He's not my "boy", but thanks."

"Oh by the way what did they tell you about those guys that did this?"

"Not a whole lot. One of the cops said they think it's these two guys who've been robbing banks all along the coast. Apparently they call themselves the Hitmen." Zach says rolling his eyes at the name.

"The Hitmen? Wow now that's a dumb name." Caleb says. "I gotta get the heck outta dodge but if you ever want to hit me up here's my number." He hands Zach a piece of paper which he pockets.

"Aight, I'll catch you later man." Zach says. Caleb just tips his hat before walking out the door. 

AJ walks in right before the door closes. "What the hell bro?" He asks. 

Zach gets up. "I don't want to talk about it. Can you just get me to the hospital?"

"Fine man, but are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Just get me to the damn hospital please." Zach's honestly not in the mood for small talk. He honestly just wants to check on Frankie and then head home so he can sleep.

A few minutes later they pull up outside the hospital. "You can head home, I can walk from here."

"Alright, you sure you're okay?" AJ asks.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." Zach says before getting out of the car and walking into the hospital and up to the front desk.

"Hey where can I find Frankie Grande?"

The woman checks her computer before replying. "ER room 3."

Thanks Zach says before heading over there. He gently knocks on the door before slowly opening it. Frankie is laying on a bed in a hospital gown. He looks up and smiles when he sees Zach. "Oh, hey." He says.

"Hey, how're you feeling." Zach asks taking in a seat in a chair by the bed.

"A little better. They gave me pain meds." Frankie replies with a shrug before wincing. "I'll live. It's just some cracked ribs and what they think is a minor concussion. If the CT comes back clear I even get to go home!" He has a lot more pep than Zach ever could in that situation.

"Well that's great." Zach says with a smile. "Oh yeah I thought you might want this back." He pulls Frankie's phone out of his pocket. 

"Oh my god, thank you." Frankie takes it from him and unlocks it. "Did you put your number in it yet?"

"Um no..." Zach says.

"Well if you think you can save my life and then get away without giving me your number then you're definitely wrong Rose." Frankie hands him his phone and plucks Zach's phone out of his hand. They exchange numbers before handing each phone back.

"Everybody at the police station was acting like we're heroes." Zach shakes his head.

"Well I think what you did was pretty heroic." Frankie says.

Zach grins. "Don't you start." he says. "Listen, I should probably get home."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're probably tired." Frankie says.

"Well I'm sure I'll see you later man." Zach says, patting Frankie's foot.

As he gets to the door he hears Frankie call out "Don't forget to text me, Rose!"

* * *

 

It's one am and Zach has not slept a wink. Every time he closes his eyes he's right back in that bank. It's driving him nuts.

He reaches over and grabs his phone that's on the nightstand and searches through his contacts until he finds Frankie. 'Hope I don't wake him up.' Zach thinks, determining whether he should actually go through with it or not.

_Text from Zach:  
_ _Hey can't sleep_  

A few seconds later his phone buzzes.

_Text from Frankie:  
_ _Me either_

_Text from Frankie:  
_ _Meet me at Wafflehouse_

_Text from Zach:  
U do realize it's 1 am right?_

_Text from Zach:  
Plus shouldnt u b resting_

_Text from Frankie:  
Do you want to come or not, Rose?_

_Text from Zach:  
I'm coming_

_Text from Zach:  
_ _But why do u keep calling me Rose?_

Frankie doesn't answer so Zach crawls out of bed and throws on some clothes that don't smell like they haven't been washed in a month. He grabs his keys and leaves a note for AJ before walking out the door. He quickly walks down the deserted streets to the only nearby waffle house. When he walks inside he sees the pink-haired man at the only occupied table. 

Zach sits across from him. Frankie looks up from his coffee with bright eyes and a smile on his face that never seems to leave.

"Have you never been to Wafflehouse at like two in the morning before? I thought everyone did that." Frankie says.

"Nope." Zach says. "Shouldn't you be resting though?"

"Well I haven't danced, sang, or any of my other daily activities so I have been resting." Zach gives him a concerned look. "They gave me pain meds. Don't worry about me, Rose."

"Why do you keep calling me Rose?" 

"I call everyone Rose, Rose." 

"Oh okay." 

Frankie rests his chin in his hand. "So Zach, who are you?"

Zach quirks up an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Who are you? Where are you from? What do you for a living? What's your favorite color? Anything. I don't know anything about you." 

They talk for hours. They talk until the sun starts to rise and other costumers start to fill the shop. A few people even come up to them, recognizing them from the news. Around eight am they look at the tv to see breaking news.

"Yesterday we brought a story to you about a bank robbery, well I can now report that the culprits have been arrested." Scenes from the bank flashed across the screen including one of Zach and Frankie hugging after finally being set free. "Cody Calafiore and Derrick Lavesseur were arrested last night around three am." Two mens faces flash across the screen. Zach recognizes both of their eyes. "Police finally caught up with Cafafiore and Lavesseur when they stopped at a McDonalds. Charges are being filed."

"Wow." Frankie says. "They really were stupid."

"Yeah lucky for us." Zach replies turning his attention back to Frankie.

"Hey, I gotta go but if you ever want to talk or you can't sleep again you should call me." Frankie says with a smile as he gets up and puts his coat on, wincing in the process.

"Yeah man I definitely will."

"See you."

"Bye."


	4. Chapter 4

Zach shoots straight up in bed, face covered in sweat, and shaking like a toy poodle during a thunderstorm. It's been a whole week since what he's started referring to as the incident, so in other words it's been a whole week since Zach got any sleep whatsoever. Ever since the incident ] he hasn't been able to sleep without the nightmares. They're always different, but they never get less terrifying. 

This one in particular was all about Frankie. It was at the very beginning of their ordeal when one of the robbers gave him a concussion. Only in Zach's dream they did much worse. He woke up with the gunshot still ringing in his ears.

Zach and Frankie have texted constantly since their meet up at the Wafflehouse, however he hasn't seen his friend's face or heard his voice since that night. Both of which are things Zach has the urge to do at the moment. He grabs his phone off the nightstand.

_Text from Zach:  
U awake?_

_Text from Frankie:  
Yeah why?_

Zach hits the button for facetime on his phone. After ringing once a completely black screen comes up. He hears a lamp being turned on, and figuring he should the same he reaches over to pull the string on his lamp. When he looks back at his phone Frankie is staring back at him.

"You okay Rose?" Frankie asks. Zach could ask him the same considering the black circles around his eyes mirror Zach's own.

"Yeah, I just had a nightmare." Zach responds, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. 

Frankie just nods. "What was it about?"

Zach sighs. "You... they... they..." He doesn't want to think about it let alone talk about it.

"They shot me." Frankie says bluntly. "I get them too, you know." He says so quietly Zach isn't sure he heard right. "It's always the same one. It always ends with them shooting you, and then when they kill me I wake up." 

"I'm sorry..."

Frankie cuts him off. "Don't be sorry Rose, you're the one that got us out of there." Zach's not so sure about that, but everyone else seems to be. He's been hailed a hero on every local news station, the story even made it on the internet. "Hey, I have an idea!" Frankie suddenly blurts out.

Zach raises an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"You should come over and we can have a 'Neither one of us actually got shot' party for two." Frankie says.

Zach looks at his clock. "At three in the morning?"

"Why not, Rose?" 

"Fine, send me the address and I'll be there in a few."

* * *

 About twenty minutes later Zach is knocking on the door to Frankie's apartment. After a few seconds of hearing rustling coming from inside the door opens, and Frankie is standing there in nothing but a pair of cloth booty shorts. 

As Zach walks in he asks "Doesn't it ever get cold?" When Frankie looks confused he continues "You know, not owning any clothes?" 

"I own clothes, Rose." He says sitting on the couch. 

"Really? Because I wouldn't know." Not that he's complaining. Strangely enough Zach genuinely doesn't mind having a half naked man in front of him... Which is kind of strange for him.

Zach plops down on the couch next to him. "Well don't you ever get arrested?" Now Zach is the one looking puzzled. "You know, by the fashion police for only owning tacky polo shirts?"

Zach giggles "But Frankiiiieee, my polo's aren't tacky."

"I think you're delusional, Rose." Zach throws an arm up on the back of the couch. Frankie cuddles into his side, and Zach doesn't push him away. Their relationship... er friendship has had no personal space since the very beginning so why change now? "We should go shopping tomorrow."

"I don't know." Zach says. "Shopping really isn't my thing."

Frankie rolls his eyes. "Oh really? I hadn't noticed." Zach just rolls his eyes. "Just trust me, it'll be fun. Maybe I'll even let you get another tacky polo."

"They aren't tacky!" Zach exclaims. 

"That's cute, Rose." Frankie gets up and moves towards his TV.

"What are you doing?" Zach asks.

Frankie hums. "Looking for a movie."

"Do you have Mean Girls?"

Frankie looks up surprised. "Do I have Mean Girls? Of course I have Mean Girls. What kind of question is that?" He puts in the DVD.

"I've known you... what? Like a week, yet I feel like you've been there my whole life." Zach says.

Frankie falls back on the couch. "And that, my dear Zachary, is what I call destiny." He cuddles back up to Zach's side. 

Once they get a few minutes into the movie Zach interrupts. "Do you do this with all of your friends?"

"What?" Frankie asks. 

"Cuddle on the couch, and watch Mean Girls at 4 am?" 

"Only the ones I have schoolgirl crushes on." This statement also doesn't bug Zach like he though it would.

"Oh."

Before the movie is even half over they're both sleeping somewhat peacefully.

* * *

"Hey man, want to go to the movies today?" AJ asks, coming out of his bedroom. 

"I don't know bro, Frankie wanted to hang out today." Zach says checking his phone for a text.

AJ sits on the couch next to Zach. "Zach, you know I like Frankie as much as the next person, but I've barely seen you all month. You're literally with the guy every day."

"Yeah I know, but..." 

AJ doesn't let him finish. "Just invite him to come with us." He gets up and walks back into his room, but sticks his head out the door and says "Oh, and ask him to bring Lauren with him."

"Are you ever going to ask her out?" Zach asks. "You'd be great together."

"Well so would you and fajnsdif." The end of AJ's sentence is muffled.

"What?" Zach calls out.

"Nothing!"

Zach shakes his head. He has weird friends.

* * *

 An hour or so later Zach and AJ walk up to the theater. They see Frankie and Lauren sitting on a bench just outside the box office chatting away. 

Zach sits down next to Frankie which gets his attention. He turns around and throws his arms around Zach, nuzzling into his neck. 

"Frankiiiiieee." Zach's face turns red. "We're in public."

"Obviously, Rose."

"C'mon lovebirds let's go get our ticket." AJ says with a chuckle before getting in line. 

Zach gets up pulling Frankie after him. "Shut up bro." He glares at AJ.

AJ just rolls his eyes before telling the guy at the counter. "Two tickets for the hobbit." He hands one to Lauren. "For you m'lady." 

She rolls her eyes before taking the ticket and saying "Thank you." with a big smile on her face anyways. 

"He's so smitten." Zach says as Frankie walks up to the counter and buys them both a ticket. 

"He's not the only one." Frankie says with a giggle. 

Zach can't help but smile. "Oh just come on." He says dragging Frankie by the arm to concessions. "You didn't have to do that you know."

"What?" Frankie asks, puzzled.

Zach's face turns red. "Buy my ticket."

"Oh Zach," Frankie throws an arm around him "It's really no problem. I have plenty of money and you have student loans to pay off."

Lauren nudges him in the side "Frankie you're such a cougar." 

"Oh well I do declare!" Frankie suddenly says in a feminine, high-pitched voice.

AJ looks sideways at Zach. "What just happened?"

"That was Clarabell, one of Frankie's alternate personalities." Zach says.

AJ shakes his head. "He has multiple personalities... Well I'm down with that."

"You guys do know that we're not dating right?" Zach asks, pointing between himself and Frankie.

"Mhmm." AJ and Lauren reply before sharing a look.

"It's starting in a few minutes so let's go get our seats!" Frankie exclaims after checking the time on his phone. They sit at the very top of the theater with Zach on the end, then Frankie and Lauren, and AJ on the other end. Before it's even 15 minutes into the movie Zach feels his eyelids start to droop. He lays his head down on Frankie's shoulder intending to take a quick nap. Almost two hours later he gets shaken awake by Frankie.

"Hmm what? I finished my homework." Zach mumbles as he sits up and then realizes where he is.

"Oh you want to play school? Well we can do that when we get home Rose." Frankie practically purrs before his face changes to a look of concern. "You okay?" He asks. "You slept through the whole movie." 

"Yeah, I just didn't sleep all that great last night." He says, rubbing his eyes.

"Remember when I said you could call me if you need me? Well that goes for any time between 11 pm and 8 am too." Frankie says.

Zach just nods. "I know."

* * *

 Later that night when Zach wakes up from one of the worst nightmares he's had yet with actual tears in his eyes, he grabs his phone from the nightstand and dials Frankie's number. After a few rings he hears Frankie's groggy voice say. "Hello."

"Did I wake you up? Sorry." Zach says with a sniff.

"Zach what's wrong." That sleepy slur is still in Frankie's voice but now it's laced with concern.

"Just another nightmare." He says.

"Come over."

"But it's..."

"Do I sound like I care, Rose? Get your ass over here."

Zach does just that. He grabs a jacket and without even changing into real clothes he grabs his keys and walks out the door. When he's about halfway there Frankie texts him and tells him and tells him to use the spare key. When he's finally there he opens the door to find the apartment completely dark. 

"Frankie?" He calls out.

"In hear!" Comes from the bedroom. Zach follows the voice and when he walks into the room he sees Frankie laying in the dark texting someone. 

When he doesn't do anything for a few moments Frankie looks up and says "Well are you going to get in bed or are you going to stand there all night?"

So Zach kicks off his shoes and crawls onto the bed. Once he lays down Frankie turns over and curls protectively around him. "Sorry for waking you up." 

"S'fine." Frankie says, pulling Zach tighter against his chest. "Try and go back to sleep, Rose."

"Goodnight Frankie." Zach says, but Frankie has already gone back to sleep. Zach still doesn't sleep for the rest of the night but he does feel much better now that he's there with Frankie... not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

* * *

 A few night's later Zach is the one getting woken up by the ringing of his phone. He groggily grabs it and after fiddling with it for a few moments he presses the answer button and says "Hello."

He can hear someone crying on the other end. "Zach." It's Frankie.

Before he gets another word out Zach is asking "Frankie, what's wrong?" before pulling on a pair of pants and walking out the door with the phone pressed between his shoulder and his ear.

"I just... I had a nightmare." He replies. "It's stupid." He sounds so upset that it breaks Zach's heart.

"I'm on my way." Zach stays on the phone with Frankie until he reaches his bedroom. Then he throws the phone and everything else to the side before crawling on the bed and laying on his back. He pulls Frankie so that he's laying on Zach's chest and he rubs the other man's back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." Frankie says with a sigh. He rubs his face into Zach's shirt. They like that for a while. Zach refuses to fall asleep until he makes sure Frankie does. So when he hears the blonde's breathing start to deepen he finally rests his head back on the pillow and allows himself to drift off.

Right before falling asleep he decides to stay here from now on... well if Frankie doesn't mind of course. Though something tells him that he won't mind at all.

* * *

 "Dude, are you ever coming back home?" Zach and AJ are sitting in a cafe a few blocks away from their apartment. "I mean it's been like four months."

"Yeah I will eventually." Zach replies, drinking his coffee. 

AJ snorts. "Yeah right. You're practically married."

"Oh really, who am I married to?"

"Frankie."

"What?" Zach splutters. "Where do you even get that from?"

AJ pretends to think. "Oh I don't know man, maybe the whole practically living at his house, sleeping next to him every night cuddled up like a fucking pretzel, spending all your free time together, and didn't you even buy him flowers last week?"

"He was having a ruff day." Zach mutters. "I do not even like Frankie that way!"

"Then why are you doing all of it?" AJ asks.

"Because he needs me!" Zach yells. "And I need him." He adds the last part quietly, almost hoping AJ didn't hear.

AJ sighs. "Zach, I hope you realize that I'll still be your best friend if you do like Frankie. That won't change anything. Plus I think he would be good for you."

"I AM NOT GAY!" Zach suddenly yells, a few people in the cafe look over. Zach rubs his face.

"I think one doth protesteth too much." AJ gives him a knowing look.

"Can we change the subject?"

"Fine." 

* * *

Zach walks out of the bedroom to find Frankie cooking in the kitchen wearing only a pair of underwear. He's singing one of his sister's songs while dancing a bit too. Zach leans in the doorway, admiring how happy the blond man looks. And maybe his ass in those underwear too, not that he would admit it. 

Frankie sets the pan down on the stove and does a turn as he goes to get something out of the fridge. When he does he notices Zach standing there watching. He blushes before saying. "Morning."

Zach chuckles. "Morning." Frankie pours his food onto his plate before going to sit on one of the stools at the breakfast bar. Zach walks over and wraps his arms around the other man. "How'd you sleep last night?" It's now been six months since the incident and they're both doing a lot better. There's still the occasional nightmare but they've both worked hard to put it behind them.

"I slept fine. What about you Rose?" 

"I slept great." He sits down next to Frankie and sips on a cup of coffee that had been set out for him.

"So, what time are you getting home... back." Zach still doesn't consider himself to live in the apartment. He still pays rent at his place with AJ so why say differently.

Zach shrugs. "I have no idea. I don't even know what to expect." Today is the day Zach's supposed to be meeting with the record company to discuss the possibility of him releasing his new single.

"Well I'm sure they're going to love you." Frankie smiles at him.

"Thanks. I should probably go get ready." He says getting up.

Before he walks out of the room Frankie says "Oh I might be going to the mall with Lauren today, so if I'm not here when you get back that's why."

"Okay." Zach goes and changes into an outfit Frankie had picked out for him the day before. He brushes his teeth and grabs his phone before walking out of the room as he reaches the front door he calls out. "I'm leaving!"

"Wait!" Frankie comes running into the room and throws his arms around Zach. "Good luck, my little tiger." He says before pulling away with a huge smile on his face.

"Thanks." Zach shoots him a smile back before slipping out the door.

* * *

 Zach's walking down the street to the nearest Starbucks. The meeting went great and they want him to come back and record his new single Sawagoo in a few weeks. He literally feels like he's walking on air. As he walks into the Starbucks and gets in line he notices everyone has their eyes glued to a television that's hung up on the wall.

He turns to watch when he hears "Local mall shooting." He feels his pace quicken as he realized what mall it is. It's the one near the apartment. The one Frankie was likely planning on going to.

Zach whips out his phone and dials the now familiar number as his heart pounds in his chest. When it goes to voicemail Zach feels like his heart is in his throat. He dials again and when it goes to voicemail again he runs out of the coffee shop and hails a cab. He starts wringing his hands while his mind is filled with all kinds of scenarios and thought. One in particular really sticks. 'I can't lose him. I can't see someone I love suffer like that all over again.' And it's true. Zach does love Frankie. He's in love with Frankie. As much as he tries to deny it, it's true. It's pretty ridiculous that it's taken something like this to make him realize it.

As the cab pulls up outside the apartment building, Zach quickly pays and runs out. He presses the button for the elevator but when it takes too long he heads for the stairs, taking them two at a time. After finally reaching the top he quickly opens the door and calls out "Frankie!" When there's no answer he calls out again.

This time the door to the bathroom opens and Frankie steps out, wearing nothing but a towel. Zach breathes out a sigh of relief as he rushes over and hugs Frankie tightly to him.

"Zach, what?" He asks.

"Oh my god." Zach says, trying to catch his breathe and let his pulse slow down. "There was a shooting at the mall, and I called but you didn't pick up." He pulls Frankie in for another hug as Frankie says "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I had a headache so I didn't go and then I was in the shower..."

Zach pulls away and cradles Frankie's face in his hands "Just don't scare me like that again, okay?" Then he leans in and presses his lips to Frankie's.

They move completely in sync with each other before Frankie pulls away. "But... I though you were straight..."

Zach sighs. "I don't know what I am, but I do know that I love you." He brushes a hand down Frankie's face. "Frankie Grande, you somehow managed to steal my heart."


End file.
